From the Heart
by Absurdly sublime
Summary: Goku convinces Vegeta, Krillen, and Gohan to take part in a contest to see who can give their wives the best gift. Each of them have a very different approach. Vegeta looks like he's havin' some trouble. Just watch what happens. Finished
1. of 2

**GIFTS, FROM THE HEART  
Part: 1 of 2**

"Opening Scene"

    

"Alright!" Krillen exclaimed excitedly throwing in his last five poker chips into the already big pile, "If this doesn't beat you then nothing will." All three saiyans looked on unimpressed by the whole act. It was a very good attempt, although everyone instantly realized the obvious triple bluff.

    

Krillen looked at his cards with a phony confidence, then at the others across the table. Goku was smiling innocently as usual, Vegeta looked agitated and scary, opposed to the cool unwariness of Gohan as he took a chip, one that equaled Krillen's five, and threw it into the pot. 

    

"Uhh ok," Krillen said now very shaky seeing that his bluff had no affect to Goku or Gohan. "Read `em and weep," he said in a very unconvincing tone. 

    

All the cards were on the table now. Krillen, hoping to confuse his opponents had a pair of tens to which he faked to be something unbeatable, in the hopes that the tree saiyans would think he bluffed purposely to make them think his hand was poor so that they would suspect his card of being actually high. As you'll see his plan failed compared to the three master strategists.

    

Gohan was pretty safe with a full house of jacks and sevens. Goku, who really isn't all that good at poker at all, had nonetheless achieved a very impressive straight flush purely by trusting his instincts. Then there was Vegeta, who seemed to have been having trouble during this hand, he laid his cards on the table; no frown, no smirk, just one raised eyebrow as the others saw his spade royal flush.

    

Gohan and Krillen had their jaws on the table as Vegeta took the liberty of sweeping as many of the chips in the middle of the table as he could to his corner. Goku started laughing hitting his forehead with his palm.

    

"Aww man, you and Bulma are just the same, how did you two always to win like that?" Vegeta separated his chips arranging them in red, blue and white columns.

    

"Hmph, who do you think taught her?" He smirked then, retrieving all the cards to redeal. Then with all the skill and finesse of a Vegas dealer he cut and shuffled and rested the cards back on the table. By the time he was finish he'd remembered the exact order of the whole deck. He looked to the others.

    

"One more hand?"

    

With Krillen out of the game they decided to call it a night. So they put the cards away and went upstairs to the CC kitchen to get something out of Bulma's fridge to eat. Or at least that was what the majority wanted. Of course they very well had to do something to keep themselves busy while their wives were out shopping. 

    

They all sat at the table now munching on food, Krillen staring in awe as the three saiyans before him devoured a years worth of any kind of meat you could imagine. The refrigerator was stocked with capsules filled with vast supplies of food and one after another a pile of empty capsules formed in the center of the table. A half an hour later their pace slowed to a mere snacking speed and Krillen was already full. The evening was winding down and Goku decided to ask the other husbands about what they were going to get their better halves for this upcoming saint's day.

"The Bet"

    

"Hey, so does anybody have any special plans for Valentines." Goku blurted out after swallowing a chunk of chicken. Gohan looked up from his drumstick.

    

"What do you mean?" Krillen then joined in the conversation. Goku leaned in toward the center of the table and the other two who were listening did the same in response.

    

"Well, what do you guys plan on getting your wives, I mean, I was thinking I could surprise Chi-Chi with a some kind of romantic Valentines Day gift. You know something original, something from the heart." Krillen was the first to oppose.

    

"Uhh, I don't know Goku, I usually just get 18 the usual flowers and candy and maybe a teddy bear. I'm not taking any kind of chance with something else." 

    

"Yeah," Gohan agreed, "that's what I do with Vidal." Goku was shaking his head.

    

"Well, that's exactly what I'm talking about!" Goku exclaimed emphasizing his words with a piece of ham, "that's just what I do too, what I'm saying is that we surprise them with something genuinely heartfelt." Krillen was already shaking his hands in protest.

    

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. When did this suddenly become WE? Whatever you decide to do Goku is none of our business. Right Gohan." Goku turned his head to his son.

    

"He's right dad, what if we get them something and they hate it." He was imagining the outcome of a disappointed 18, Chi-Chi, Bulma and Videl. He shivered at the mere thought of it.

    

"Come on you guys. Just imagine if they love it. Wouldn't that be ten times better then getting something they already know they'll get." By the looks of things the two were not going to yield. Then he looked to his side at Vegeta. "Hey, Vegeta back me up man, you agree with me right?" Up until now he had been trying to avoid getting into this discussion, but now Goku was directly addressing him. There was only one thing to do.

    

"You're an idiot, Kakarot." Typical response, but Goku was far from giving up. 

    

"Aww, where's that adventurous spirit of yours. Huh Vegeta?" 

    

"I dropped it in a well, why don't you go find it for me?" Goku brushed off the comment.

    

"No, really." Goku said, as if Vegeta wasn't serious to begin with. "We should do this, and we'll even have a dinner, all eight of us. Then we'll present our gifts there. We'll meet somewhere an equal distance from each of our houses then after dinner we all take moonlit walks home alone with our wives. We can't lose if we just search our hearts for what they truly want. Right?" 

    

"Look Kakarot, Bulma is the richest woman in West City. What makes you think anything I get her is gonna be so special that she can't just go out and buy ten of the damn things the very same day." Krillen and Gohan were nodding their heads. Goku was surprised; it means that Vegeta has actually thought about this before.

    

"He has a good point Goku." Krillen shrugged his shoulders. "Its just too risky."

    

"Yeah dad, you haven't convinced us, sorry." Goku slumped down on his chair.

    

"Well, I guess I'm beat." Goku said sadly, "If you guys don't want to do it then I can't make you." But he still had a trump card to play. "Although…well…ya know, I bet I could have gotten Chi-Chi the best gift out of all of the gifts any of you could of given your wives." The three whom he addressed, had all paused at the remark. The reaction was most prominent in Vegeta.

    

"What was that?" Vegeta asked, the thought of Goku being better then him at anything made his hairs stand. Goku knew the moment Vegeta uttered those words that he and the others were in. "Are you suggesting that what you give your wife would be better then what I would give Bulma." The other two watched, Goku's words still ringing in their heads. "I, obviously, would have the superior gift to present." His words were aimed at Goku but Gohan intervened.

    

"Hold on Vegeta. Your telling me that I can't get my Videl a gift that would knock her socks off?" Vegeta hadn't fully understood that last part but he understood enough to know he was being challenged.

    

"No halfling, I didn't say that, what I said was that my gift would be the best." Krillen was now revved up.

    

"Wait just a Minute. What would two saiyans know about what to get human women? Its obvious that I am the most qualified, and that my gift would be the most appreciated." 

    

"Shut up, cue ball." Vegeta shot out.

    

"Yeah! 18 isn't even human!" Gohan Blurted out.

    

"Watch what you say newbie!" Krillen spat back to Gohan.

    

"Yeah amateur, get back to us when your kid can drive a car." Vegeta said now aiming at Gohan.

    

"What!? I've been married for 15 years now, and Pan just turned 14. But I worry about her hanging around Bra. She such a BAD influence." 

    

"WHAT did you say?!" It continued like this for a while, with names such as "old man", "midget", and "mama's boy" flying about. But Goku decided to stop while things weren't too much out of hand.

    

"Then it's a bet." Suddenly all three turned to him.

    

"IT'S A BET!!"

    

Things cooled down if you can believe that. And everything was settled with no hard feeling. The winner would have the satisfaction of knowing that his gift was truly from the heart, and with the four who were competing it was bound to be a very interesting evening when they would all reveal their gifts.

    

Goku sat in his chair with a grin, impressed with his work. 'Ha,' he thought, 'divide and conquer.' 

"The Perfect Gift part I: Symbolic"

    

The winds were calm and warm there on Master Roshi's island. As of now Krillen had the place to himself. The old Master and the girls went into the city to buy some groceries. Krillen asked to stay behind so he could have his thoughts to himself, but really he stayed to think about the perfect gift for 18. 

    

He was lying on the sand at the bank of the beach just under the shadow of a palm tree. Many options ran through his head, things she liked, things she didn't like, things she might like.

    

He already asked his daughter, and she was about as helpful to him as a napkin is to a feasting saiyan. So he decided to stay true to himself and his wife by looking within for the answer.

    

Sitting up from the sand he focused on the enormous brilliance of the sea. The sky and the sun were being reflected off of the blue shimmering ocean, but he could still see the hints of the many creatures as they roamed around just underneath the surface.

    

Feeling the sting of the bright sun he decided to take a swim. Without needing any preparation he stood up, ran a bit, then jumped into the sky, arching his body. He cut straight thought the water as naturally as a seal.

    

As he dived he could feel the cool water rushing past him, he could see a school of fish jerking away from him, as they swam off. The ocean was filled with all sorts of colorful fish and exotic sea dwelling creatures, and these all seemed to inspire him. These were nature's gifts. He knew he couldn't afford anything like fine jewelry, or expensive over-the-top lingerie, but he could surely think of a great gift down here with all these wonderful animals. And then he realized what Goku was talking about; he realized that if his gift was indeed from the heart that 18 would absolutely love it.

    

Right after his epiphany he saw something at the very bottom of the sea. He squinted and swam a bit closer but his oxygen was beginning to fail him. At that moment, looking down at this object, so simple yet so beautiful, it came to him, the gift, the way to present it, the message, everything. 

    

He swam up and broke the surface. He climbed onto the island breathing in oxygen in gasps, smiling all the while. He sat facing the ocean again, and imagined the look on 18's face as he presented his gift. He brushed back some of his hair as it fell on his face and he let out a sort of laugh. He looked at his watch, then at the sky. Then he ran back into the water and dived in once again, this time letting out a very exited "YAHOO!!"

"The Perfect Gift part II: Direct"

    

_REMY'S FINE JEWEL SHOP_, that was the name of the small building along downtown West City. It was pretty much a low profile shop but it didn't seem that way from the inside. Its facade hid the true elegance of the store, and of course kept dumb jewel thieves away.

    

As they opened the door a bell at the top corner of the entrance sounded and almost instantly the shopkeeper appeared before them. He looked like a very trustworthy old fellow. He had a nice suit and polished shoes. You could tell immediately that this was good old Remy himself.

    

"May I help you, young man?" he asked very politely. Gohan could not help but smile as he pushed up his glasses up with one hand and held out the other offering a handshake. The old man accepted.

    

"Yes, thank you." The shopkeeper nodded his head. "I'm looking for..." he stopped as he saw his young daughter dash around him to stare at the selection of jewelry kept in the glass cases. "Pan, be careful. You shouldn't run in here." Before he could go over to her, the old jeweler stopped him. "But she…"

    

"Its quite fine, no need to worry," the old man assured him. "I know what you're here for." Gohan stopped and looked at him curiously. "Trust me, I've worked in this business a long time and I think at least I could tell what people need just by looking at them." Gohan was intrigued, so he would test this man.

    

"So tell me then, just what do I need." The old man smiled and looked at him as if to read his type.

    

"Hmm?" he began. "You have a ring and a teenage daughter, so I'd have to surmise that you have been married for at least ten years." Gohan nodded but was still unimpressed. "Now, Valentines day is coming up so I know that you're shopping for that occasion, but it's rare for someone to search for a gift so early during the month. Usually it's a box of chocolates and flowers a day before Valentines, but your different. You're searching for something special. Am I right?" Gohan laughed, he was right, but lets see if he really knew what he needed. "Please come this way." 

    

The man led him to one particular booth, Gohan saw as they past all kinds of extravagant jewelry. Some studded with diamonds and connected to long chains of gold and platinum. But the booth before them wasn't anything like that. Gohan looked in the glass and saw very beautiful gold and silver rings, however these rings seem very different. Each had a different design and a different look, and what's more is that there seemed to be only one of each type. 

    

"How do you like them?" the man asked seeing the amazement of his customers face. "They are of my very own design." Upon hearing this Pan ran to see the rings along with her father.

    

Gohan viewed one ring after another and noted the uniqueness of each of them. He could hear Pan suggesting what rings he should get, gasping in delight as her eye caught the sight of an even better ring then she suggested before. He wasn't listening thought, he was thinking about his gift. The old man was right, he wanted to get something special and if he got one of these rings his gift would surely be special, but he was still missing something. Then he realized that despite the exceptionality of all these rings none of them stood for what he wanted them to stand for. 

    

The old shopkeeper noticed as Gohan's face signaled that he had come to a decision.

    

"Well," he asked. Gohan looked up from the glass case, "have you decided?" he nodded.

    

"Yes I have." He told the man and was about to enlighten him when he suddenly went back behind a door. 

    

"Very good, wait here I'll get what you need." Pan looked up at her father, he just shrugged his shoulders, as he was just as confused. They waited for a moment but then he came out carrying a small lavender bag and a black ring box. He put them on the counter before Gohan and Pan; they looked at the items curiously. Gohan was sure that he didn't want any of the rings but he wondered nevertheless what kind of special jewel the man put in the box. "I told you that I knew what you needed and here it is."

    

The father and daughter looked at each other, then at the small ring case, though paying no particular attention to the bag. 

    

Gohan picked up the box and began to open it. Pan leaned in closer to have a better look. 

    

"There's nothing in it!" she cried. Gohan then looked up at the bag that the shopkeeper also brought with him. The old man folded his arms as Gohan took the bag and untied the string. He reached inside and felt what seemed like two rocks. He froze, it couldn't be. As he removed the two items from the bag his jaw dropped. Pan was amazed as she realized what they were. 

    

"How, how did you know?" The old man just smiled at his customer and punch in a few buttons on his cash machine.

    

"That'll be 150 dollars. Thank you." Gohan was still in awe as he put the raw gold and silver nuggets back into the bag. He reached in his back pocket for his wallet that was stuffed with a bunch of hundreds that he expected he would have to cough up. Instead he gave the shopkeeper two hundred dollar bills and got fifty dollars in change.

    

The bell once again sounded as they exited the store, the old shopkeeper showing them the way.

    

"Come again sometime." The shopkeeper said from the door as they walked down to their car.

    

"Thank you very much." Gohan and Pan waved goodbye, "Uhh, its Remy right?" The man smiled.

    

"No, the name's Daimone, Remy is my father's name." He waved back. Then closed the door behind him. Leaving the two to drive home.

    

As Gohan drove Pan noticed him looking at the bag of precious stones smiling. It made her smile. 

"The Perfect Gift part III: Honest"

    

_"Just two weeks, yup, that's about how long until 'the day,' but I guess I shouldn't be so worried. I mean at least I won't be alone in my endeavor. Yeah! I still can't believe I got those three to go along with this whole thing. Oh and of course there is the matter of our little competition. Ha! That's where I've got the advantage. I got my gift for Chi-Chi weeks ago; I can still remember when I first saw it. I knew I just had to give it to her. I was totally lucky I found it too, but thanks to King Kai I managed to get my hands on a rare organic metal while visiting his world."_

    

His hand clutched the silverish pendent made from this other worldly metal. An intricately designed chain spilled from his palm as he opened his hand. He stood up from the summit of Mt. Kajika, the air around him swirling from the power that radiated inside him. One last time he looked at the pendant in his hand, he opened it, smiled and closed it back again. Then he put it safely back in his pocket.

    

A puff of foggy air escaped his mouth as he sighed and put two fingers to his fore head. 

    

He disappeared in a flash, creating a tiny vacuum as he suddenly left a pocket of unoccupied space were he had just been. As a result the thick vapor swirled around in very organic designs, they blew his footprints away, erasing any record of him being there. Just like always… Earth's unknown champion. 

"The Perfect Gift part IV: Unexpected"

    

There was only one week to go and Vegeta, like the other guys, was burdened with finding the perfect gift for his wife. And it didn't help that wherever he went he saw the little hints she left all over the place. In his bathroom, hidden in his clothes, hanging from the bedroom door, and even all over his gravity room. It was just too much pressure for anyone to handle. 

    

"Damn it all!" he said ripping the pink hearts taped to the back door of the house, his daughter snickering with amusement from the couch. "Don't laugh girl, I now you had a hand in this. Where is she, where is your mother?" Bra's snickering turned to full out laughter. She did her best to hold it in but it proved to be too much to contain. He shook his head in defeat and took a seat beside his little girl on the couch. He sighed looking at the mangled pink pieces of paper in his hand, one of which was still intact. He flipped it open reading the contents of the card. Bra saw a little smile come to his face, the same smile she saw whenever she knew her father was genuinely happy.

    

"Dad," Vegeta turned suddenly to her, "you haven't asked me yet." He looked back at the pink cards, then an instant later he crumpled the whole mess into a ball.

    

"Asked you what?" he said getting up and walking to the door to the back yard, opening up the screen with an annoying squeal.

    

"What I think you should get mom for her gift." Vegeta stopped suddenly.

    

"How do you know about that?" After considering the question he stopped her from answering. "Never mind." Then he leaned in the opening of the door and crossed his arms the way he always did and… "So, what do _you_ think is the perfect gift for your mother?" Bra cleared her throat and got her thoughts together; she wanted to say this right.

    

"Well, I do think I know the perfect gift, but..."

    

"But what?"

    

"…But I don't think I should tell you what _I_ think is the perfect gift. I think… its better you realize the gift yourself. That way it will be that much more special, don't you think?" She closed eyes and braced herself for an "I can't believe you wasted my time on that" speech. But after a while, when all she heard was silence she opened them up to see that her father looked like he was really deep in thought over this. She was exited that she actually got through to him, that he was seriously thinking about this. Finally he looked at her and he had little smirk on his face, then…

    

"I can't believe you wasted my time on that." Nervous laughter was all that came from her mouth. "Besides I already came up with the perfect thing. That was just a bunch nonsense you spewed into my ears." He said shaking his head. The screen door closed behind him as he walk to outside to his G-Room. Bra leaned over the couch looking through the door.

    

"I love you, daddy!" she yelled in a sugary sweet apologetic way.

    

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it princess." He said in fading voice.

    

Bra watched until he was gone, then she just shrugged her shoulders, and smiled, the same smile she smiled whenever she knew her parents were genuinely happy. 

* * *

Author: Thanks for reading, please tell me what you think, and if you havent already check out my other fic, "If Love Was a Cat" or visit my website and check out Remys Art, thats me.

**Disclaimer:** Hello, Dbz ain't mine


	2. of 2

**GIFTS, FROM THE HEART  
Part: 2 of 2**

"The Night part I: The Guys"

    

"Hey guys." Krillen said as he walked into Vegeta's old room; he and the other guys were in there just waiting and preparing mentally for what they would say to their wives when the time came. He reached anxiously into his pocket for the hundredth time to check if the wooden box he put in there hadn't gone anywhere. He sighed with relief as he traced the rolling waves he had carved onto the top of this box with his very own hands. 

    

Looking around he could see what the other guys brought with them. Goku had a black velvet box about the size of Krillen's wooden one and he suspected it was probably a necklace like his. Gohan fidgeted with a tiny box dressed up as a present, it even had a little bow on the top half, a ring most likely. Now, Vegeta's was a little harder to figure out, because beside him was a big box about a foot high and a foot long. Krillen looked at this box with a dumbfounded look on his face before he noticed Goku and Gohan looking at him. They just shrugged their shoulders. Vegeta noticed all of them.

    

"What the hell are looking at!?"

half an hour later…

    

"Aagh! What could they be doing in there?!" Gohan said, fixing his tie for the tenth time. Everyone else made a sort of humming sound that meant, "I don't know". He and Krillen were sitting on the bed, Vegeta was sitting on a chair doing something with his cell phone and Goku was by the window.

    

"Hey," Gohan called "whacha doin Vegeta?" he looked up from the phone and quickly put it aside. 

    

"Nothing." he said very nonchalantly. Nobody thought anything of it.

    

"So Vegeta, what made you want to have the dinner at your house? What about your moonlit walk?"

    

"Heh," Vegeta shook his head, "Moon lit walk, what's with you guys and moonlit walks, huh?"

    

"Well, there supposed to be really romantic." Krillen told him nodding his head. Vegeta rolled his eyes.

    

"Tch! I," he said pointing to himself, "wont be needing any moonlit walk." Goku looked at him from the window.

    

"So, you think your gift is that good, huh?" Goku folded his arms.

    

"Yeah, you could say that." Vegeta said with a confident smirk.

    

"Ok, we'll see"

    

"Yeah, we'll see"

{In Bra's room}

    

"Ok, so whatcha you guys wanna do next?" Bra asked Marron and Pan. They all giggled girly giggles as they thought of all the girly things they could do.

    

"Well," Pan began with a mischievous look in her eye, "We could get some hot chocolate syrup, some nice long bananas, and some creamy ice-cream, then we could…" she was interrupted by a cell phone with a Miss Independent ring tone.

    

"Oops." Bra got up and walked to her desk, "that's me." Someone had sent a text message that consisted of three letters; of course she knew who it was, and the three letters were NOW. She turned to the girls.

    

"Hold on alright." she said walking out the door, "I'll just be five minutes." The two girls looked at the closing door and then to each other. Pan shrugged her shoulders.

    

"I guess banana splits will have to wait."

{Back at Vegeta's old room}

    

"Come on."

    

"No."

    

"Just tell us."

    

"No."

    

"Please."

    

"No Dammit!" 

    

"A hint." Vegeta started to get annoyed, more then usual, that is.

    

"I don't see anyone else enlightening everybody"

    

"Come on," Goku showed him his box, "look, mines a necklace, that's obvious and so is Krillen's, and Gohan has a ring"

    

"Hey!" the two guys shot their eyes at Goku.

    

"Are you guys serious" they held their appalled expressions for a second then just shrugged while nodding their heads. 

    

"Yeah, your right" Goku looked back at Vegeta and decided to stare at him until he told him what he wanted to know.

"The Night part II: The Girls"

45 minutes ago…

    

All the girls smiled as 18 finally arrived and they all said their hellos and they all exchanged hugs and little kisses on the cheek. You know, the usual. 18 sat on the bed next to Videl. Chi-Chi and Bulma went back to back to their conversation. It looked like everyone was set to go but nobody went anywhere.

    

"So, what's up," 18 looked beside her, "we ready or what?" Videl smiled.

    

"Yeah, but we decided to keep the boys waiting for awhile." 18 smiled with Videl and relaxed a bit more, putting her purse aside on the bed.

    

"Good Idea."

    

"We thought so." Light laughter between the two women seemed to break away any previous tensions they might have had before. 

    

"So Bulma," Chi-Chi whispered to her friend, "What do you think the guys are planning tonight?"

    

"I don't know. I didn't know anything about it till a week before." Bulma looked up from where she was sitting at her mirror.

    

"Yeah?" Chi-Chi leaned against the doorway and folded her arms.

    

"Uh huh, Vegeta just said everyone was coming here to have dinner; he said, he and the guys had something _special_ planned for tonight."

    

"Something special, huh?"

    

"That's what he said." Bulma shrugged her shoulders as she said this. "What about you?"

    

"Goku said something similar, and Videl told me the same thing about Gohan."

    

"It's probably the same story for 18." Chi-Chi nodded her head. Bulma looked over at Videl and 18.

    

"Hey, you guys," the two women turned to face her, "what do guys think about this?" Videl shifted her sitting position to face Bulma. 

    

"I think it's nice. It's so romantic. Don't you think?" The three other girls smiled at that sentiment and each woman let herself believe, without hesitation, in the pure romantic notion on that night.

Half an hour later…

    

"Ok, it's your turn Videl." 18 smiled slyly at her, watching her blush. "You have to tell me how you're gonna thank Gohan after tonight." 18 did her best to hold back her grin. "Come on let's have it."

    

"No way, are you nuts." She looked to Chi-Chi and Bulma but they gave her the, "can't help you" look; otherwise they'd be pulled in just the same. 

    

"That's not fair, I told you."

    

"I didn't ask you to." Videl tried to get out of it, but 18 continued to persist until…

    

"Fine," 18 unleashed her smirk. Videl rolled her eyes. "Listen…"

    

"Uh huh?" Videl leaned in close and lowered her voice.

    

"Well," Videl began with a mischievous look in her eye, "I would probably get some hot chocolate syrup, and… some nice long bananas, and… some creamy ice-cream, then I would…" All of a sudden there was a knock at the door, and soon after, it click open. Bra walked in and said hey. 18 whispered in Videl's ear.

    

"That's it," she said disappointed, "pigging out on banana split." Videl shook her head and whispered back.

    

"Who said anything about banana split." The two women giggled.

    

"Bra, what are you doing here," Bulma asked her daughter. "Where are Pan and Marron?"

    

"Oh their back in my room." She looked a little nervous.

    

"So, what's up?" Bulma said sensing Bra's anxiety.

    

"Well, I was by where dad and the others where and I overheard something I thought you should know."

    

"What?" 

    

The four women listened very carefully to her, and when she finally told them everything she left and went back to her room.

    

"A BET!" Chi-Chi said loudly. 18 stood shaking her head.

    

"I knew something was going on, I knew it. Krillen, you are gonna get."

    

"And Gohan too." Vidal said angrily.

    

"And Goku." The Three girls almost stomped out of there when Bulma, who was thinking about the situation, finally said something.

    

"Wait!" The three girls looked at her. "I have a better Idea."

{Vegeta's old room}

    

"FINE, FINE. Damn it Kakarot you persistent idiot, I'll tell you." Goku was grinning wide as Vegeta whispered it quietly into his ear.

    

"Yeah? Really?" Goku looked at the box Vegeta brought. "Oooh, so that's what it is."

    

"You'd better not tell anyone else." Goku put two fingers to his lips and pretended to zip them closed. Vegeta, not knowing what he was doing, looked at him as if he was crazy. "Whatever." He said shaking his head.

    

"Hey, but are you sure she's gonna like something that."

    

"Yes, I'm sure"

    

"Uh huh, how sure" Vegeta looked him in the eye with a smirk.

    

"Very."

    

The girls walked down the hallway to where the boys were waiting. Getting ready to act like everything is normal. Bulma turned to them just before they reached the door.

    

"All right," she whispered, "you know the plan." The girls nodded their heads.

    

"We act like we don't know anything." Chi-Chi said as she nodded her head.

    

"Then we make sure that non of those bastards wins that little bet of theirs." Videl held up her fist.

    

"And then we make 'em pay when we get home." 18's evil smirk spread like crazy to the rest of the hell bent ladies. Bulma looked at the others to make sure they were set and they confirmed with a nod.

    

"Ok." She opened the door to find the guys just sitting around, but each of them, including Vegeta, lightened up considerably when they saw their wives.

    

"HELLO BOYS." 

    

Every thing went perfect during dinner. They ate out on an overhanging balcony. There were candles and waiters, and even a guy playing the violin. The square table they sat at was big, but not too big, and elegant white cloth draped the corners. They sat so that each couple sat together at each of the four sides. 

    

The waiters took the orders and the chef fixed up whatever was requested. They drank wine and made conversation. They talked about how the food was delicious or how it was nice to live a quiet life with friends and family. For a moment, the girls forgot about their plan, they forgot what Bra had told them, or maybe they simply didn't want to think about it right now. It would be so easy just to ignore it, to just have a good time. But…

"Gifts part I"

    

"Okay," Krillen said tapping the rim of his wine glass. He nervously adjusted his tie and cleared his throat. "Well, you girls are probably wondering why we brought you out to dinner tonight." Bulma, Chi-Chi, 18 and Videl all looked at each other, and sighed knowing that they'd have to sabotage this wonderful evening. "It's sort of unexpected, we know, but that's because we wanted to surprise you, and… we wanted to give you something that represented how each of us feel and how much you mean to us." The girls forced a smile but scoffed inside.

    

"That was great Krillen." Gohan said patting Krillen on the shoulder.

    

"Thanks," he said, signing as he blew air through his lips. "So, if you guys don't mind," he cleared his throat. "I would like to be first." The guys gave him the go ahead and he reached in his pocket and pulled out a brown wooden box. 18 couldn't help but stare at it with fascination, but she hid her curiosity knowing that she would have to crush Krillen to a pulp before the evening ended.

    

"18," she looked up at him, the box in his hand as he stood beside her, "I know I could never afford to buy you expensive jewelry or anything like that, and sometimes I feel bad that I can't give you those kinds of things." He kind of shrugged his shoulders a bit. "But I can give you this." he opened the wooden box in front of her. Her eyes widened a bit, but not too much that it was obvious. Inside there were three pearls strung together with a thin silky string with two pieces of tiny coral at the ends that made a little latch. One of the pearls was as big as a marble and the two on either side were a little smaller.

    

"You see," 18 moved back a little as Krillen took the necklace and unlatched it. "Each pearl represents every five years we've been together." He got the ends right around her neck and locked them together. "And for every five more years we're together, I'll add another pearl, and then another, until finally," He put the box back in his pocket. "when it's complete," he sat beside and watched her looking down, feeling the smooth flawless pearls. "we'll know just how long we've loved each other." Krillen swallowed hard and waited anxiously for a reaction.

    

18 looked up and the other three girls were urging her to do what they planned to do. She licked her lips as she thought about it and sighed.

    

"So… what do you think?" Krillen asked uneasily, scratching the back of his head. 18 eyes suddenly turned to him and glared and Krillen jumped back slightly. "Uh, if you don't like it, I can… I…uh" he was gazing at the ground, about ready to fall to pieces. 18 shook her head, rolling her eyes as she smirked.

    

"Krillen!" she stopped him from babbling any longer and he looked up at her. She looked right in his eyes, and then to the table at the other girls. She knew exactly what they wanted her to do. Then, so soft there almost wasn't any sound at all, she mouthed…

    

"I love it…" Krillen's smile was a mile wide, as he kissed 18 on the lips and looked in her eyes.

    

"I love you." He said and she kissed him back.

    

"You'd better." They laughed as they moved away from each other. Goku and Gohan were hooting and whistling, embarrassing both Krillen and 18.

    

"That was beautiful Krillen." Goku complimented. Vegeta clapped too, even he had to admit that was some good sh!t.

    

"Thanks guys." 18 didn't say a word even though she knew the other three girls were glaring at her, instead she just rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders at them. 

"Gifts part II"

    

The other three girls could not believe what just happened. Bulma tried to give 18 evil glares but the blonde haired android wasn't making any kind of eye contact. Chi-Chi and Videl looked at each other in disbelief. '_I don't understand,_' Videl thought, '_I could've bet money that 18 was the least likely to crack_.' She shook her head. '_If she let this go then maybe I could…no I have to teach Gohan a lesson, I have to…_'

    

"That really was beautiful Krillen," Gohan said standing up. "And now, I'd like to go next, if that's okay." Goku nodded and then Vegeta. "Alright," he took a deep breath. Videl was terrified, but she knew what she had to do. So she gulped and set her eyes on Gohan as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a green box with a purple bow on the top. He ran his hand through his hair one last time then offered his hands and when she put hers in his he pulled her up to stand with him.

    

"Videl," she looked into his eyes, "ya know, I…" his expression lightened, "I must have gone to a hundred different jewelers searching…for, something," He smiled and Videl could not help but smile herself. "Something that would show how much being with you means to me, but nothing I found even came close to what I wanted to say. That is, until something happened to me, and I realized the only way I could show you, truly show you, what it means to be with you, the only way, was to create our love..." He opened the box and put the top piece in his pocket, "as something you could keep with you for as long as we know we love each other." Videl saw the ring and was speechless, it was gold and silver and the two colors seemed to wrap around each other. Gohan took her hand and put it on her finger. He guided her to sit and he followed. He took her hand again and she looked up at him, unable to speak.

    

"This ring," his eyes went from her to the ring as he used his fingers to touch it, "is made of two independent pieces." He looked up at her again. "It's made so that the harder you try to take them apart, the tighter they hold on to each other." They both smiled and met in the middle with a kiss as Krillen and Goku cheered and clapped for young couple. 18 passed Chi-Chi and Bulma a sly smile as they fumed inwardly then turned to Videl but she was busy looking at Gohan. The fact is that she completely forgot about what she planned to do, but instead of slapping herself on the forehead she was thankful she'd forgotten and more then that she was thankful for Gohan's gift. Thoughts of ice cream and chocolate syrup suddenly popped into her head.

"Gifts part III"

    

Chi-Chi and Bulma looked at each other and both knew what the other was thinking, it was clear now that you can't give a woman's job to a girl. They'd have to do this without them. The two nodded an assuring nod and then acted like nothing happened at all.

    

"Ahem." Goku interrupted the congratulations. "Gohan," he said nodding his head, "unbelievable job," Gohan nodded in response, "but now it's my turn." He had a huge grin on his face as he straightened his tie and turned to Chi-Chi. Very gently he lifted her up in her chair and turned her to face him, and he did the same with his chair and sat down so that now they were face to face. Chi-Chi didn't really know what to expect and so she waited and played along for now. 

    

Goku leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the check, which caught her a little by surprise. He pulled out a black velvet box and placed it on his lap.

    

"Close your eyes." He said, and she did, still a little uncertain. Then he traced the edge of her neck with his fingers and then down the front of her chest. She felt the gentle touch and it gave her goose bumps. 

    

Finally, he opened the box revealing to everyone, except Chi-Chi, a golden heart pendent. He moved his chair closer until he was inches from her face.

    

"This," he put it around her neck making sure to secure it, "is for all the times a ever left you alone and told you I'd make it up to you." He leaned back a little to give her room. "You can open your eyes." 

    

Chi-Chi looked down at the heart shaped pendent she now donned around her neck. She sighed as she opened it and saw a picture of the two of them on their wedding day.

    

"I had it specially made." She looked up at him half ready to tear him apart. He put his hands around hers as she still held the pendent. "It was made in heaven." Chi-Chi gasped as their hands began to glow. She looked at his face only to see he was smiling. Then the glowing stopped.

    

"Wha… what just…" she tried to ask but before she could he grabbed one of her hands and pressed it against his chest. 

    

"Do you feel it?" Chi-Chi's eyes widened as she felt a faint beat to her pendent. It beat with the same rhythm as Goku's heart. "It's some of my energy. Now you'll always have a part of me with you no matter how far away from each other we are." He smiled and wiped away a tear from her eye. He pulled her close and embraced her.

    

"I love you." They said at the same time as they pulled away from one another. True to form the others cheered and clapped. Even Bulma, but of course inside she was seething. 

    

Now she was the only one left. Their, or rather, her plan had gone completely to crap. The three girls absolutely refused to make eye contact with her at this point; they feared that if they did they would certainly burst into flames from the looks of pure contempt they would surely get from Bulma. Now, she was pissed and she didn't care how much she showed it as she folded her arms and looked at Vegeta sideways. 

    

Soon everyone including Vegeta began to notice and all became quiet as they saw a not so thrilled Bulma waiting for Vegeta to do whatever it was he was gonna do. He cleared his throat and seemed more then a little thrown.

    

"I… guess it's my turn"

"Gifts part IV"

    

"Well!?" Vegeta was shook by the rather sharp delivery, and he reached just behind as one of the waiters dropped the box just as instructed. Bulma scoffed as he put the box right in front of their part of the table. "This should classic." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. The other guys where whispering quiet 'uh-oh's' to themselves and the girls where staring down at the table. Vegeta just had a look of open-mouthed astonishment on his face.

    

"Right," his now nervous eye switched from views of a very angry Bulma and the box, "well," he began with a steady tone, "before I show you my gift, I'd like to tell a little story." He looked at Bulma who gave him nasty 'Go on!' look. "Okay." he cleared his throat. "Well, back when I first started living here on earth, this woman here," he pointed to Bulma who hadn't changed her furious expression, "just about forced me to come along with her to this auction thing. Now, I didn't want to go but she damn near threatened me, and so I had no choice. So we get there, late; I guess she must've gotten lost along the way. Anyway were so late she doesn't get to bid on whatever she came to bid for and right then and there she throws the biggest temper tantrum in front of everybody and gets us escorted off the property." When he finished his story he looked to see if there was any reaction from Bulma, and there was. It looked like her head was about to explode, she was mad. "Well, I got that thing. The very thing you made all that fuss over." He slipped to top half of the box off and put it aside. Then he motioned her to look and she did, very slowly.

    

"What the hell is that!?" she was talking through her teeth, pointing to the clear head of a bird peeking through to surface of a pool of white and pink styrofoam peanuts.

    

"It's a crystal goose." Bulma shook her head.

    

"A WHAT?!" Vegeta was about to speak when she cut her of. "First of all, you didn't get one detail of that story right." Vegeta stood up.

    

"Which part?" Bulma sat him back down.

    

"Which part?! How about the fact that it was you who begged me not to leave you alone with my mom and dad." She turned to the others now to tell them what really happened. "The _king_ here couldn't stand to be alone with my parents so he wouldn't let me leave unless he came along. And if I'm not mistaken it was _you_ who threatened _me_." She hit him on the shoulder when she said that. "And then when got there, late because of your dumbass," she pointed at Vegeta, "somebody already bid and won what I came for. At least you got that part right, but it wasn't a stupid crystal goose." She scoffed at how absurd the two words sounded together.

    

"But I distinctly remember a crystal goose," Vegeta argued.

    

"Yeah, so do I. You were eyeing it when we first arrived and then I made a comment about how it was tacky. Oh yeah and then later you broke it and got us kicked out"

    

"Ok," Vegeta said admittedly, "then what was it you where gonna bid for." The three other couples watched as all the drama unfolded and they too were curious now, though a little guilty that they were.

    

"I can't believe you don't remember. I cried for two days straight, I wouldn't talk to you for weeks; I think I might've even tried to strangle you in your sleep." Vegeta looked as if he was drawing a blank. 

    

"What?"

    

"Ugh! It was a pocket watch, ok. A gold pocket watch I saw in one my dads books, it was made by my great great great great grandfather and it was the first of anything ever to use a perpetual motion system. It's the same system that runs most of this house and it was the only one made in the world at that time. It's what made my families fortune." Vegeta looked unfazed.

    

"Tch, so I didn't get you what you wanted you could be at least thankful I got you anything." The whole room, including the waiters standing by and the violin player, winced.

    

"Thankful! Really, I should be thankful."

    

"Yes!"

    

"Well maybe I would be if I didn't know for a fact that this was nothing more to you then a bet." The three other guys looked a little surprised, and they looked to their wives and were even more surprised that they weren't. "Yeah we knew, but it looks like I'm the only one who didn't fall for any of your mushy gifts," she got a little quieter, "or maybe I'm the only one who didn't get a mushy gift to fall for." She looked at the box again to see the open mouth of a clear goose and she got angrier. "I should hit you over the head with this stupid thing."

    

"I dare you, you ungrateful little bi…" before he could finish Bulma got up and wrapped her hand around the neck of the crystal bird and pulled it hard from the styrofoam. But to her surprise it seem very light, then the neck ended, and tied to it was a gold ribbon and at the end of that was a gold chain and attached to the end of the chain was a late 18th century, one of a kind, crafted and marked by Long John Briefs himself, perfectly restored, gold, vintage …

{Flashback}

_    

"FINE, FINE. Damn it Kakarot you persistent idiot, I'll tell you." Goku was grinning wide as Vegeta whispered it quietly into his ear. "I got her an old fashioned pocket watch."

    

"Yeah? Really?" Goku looked at the box Vegeta brought. "Oooh, so that's what it is."

    

"You'd better not tell anyone else." Goku put two fingers to his lips and pretended to zip them closed. "Whatever." He said shaking his head.

    

"Hey, but are you sure she's gonna like something that."

    

"Yes, I'm sure"

    

"Uh huh, how sure" Vegeta looked him in the eye with a smirk.

    

"Very."

_

"Closing Scene"

    

"Oh man I still can't believe it." Krillen said holding his stomach and laughing, the others laughed with him and took peeks at his cards. "I mean we all surprised our wives but you damn near gave her a heart attack with that act." Gohan nodded his head and put his hand on Vegeta's shoulder.

    

"What I can't believe is that she actually forgave you for that." He said almost cracking with laughter. "If this bet was settled out of pure guts then you'd win hands down. Man are you sure she even let you in the same room after that." Vegeta didn't even look up from his hand.

    

"Hmph, lets just say I think we all won something that night." 

    

"You got that right," Gohan agreed, "say Vegeta you got any ice-cream or banana's up there I just had a craving for them for some reason." Vegeta and the other guys looked at him strangely then finally shook his head. Gohan shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well." 

    

"Well you know what I heard." Goku looked up and then to Vegeta. "I have it on good authority that Bra was _told_ to confess everything to the girls." Gohan and Krillen still didn't understand, "by Vegeta!" 

    

"Aww, I knew it, you tried to sabotage this whole thing for us." Gohan was shaking his head as he said it. Krillen was laughing.

    

"So much for you plan Mr. Evil Genius, it didn't work." Goku, Gohan and Krillen started laughing at loud.

    

"Yeah, you might know Bulma like that, but not our wives." Goku said braking from the laughter.

    

"Yeah, Yeah, I must admit, despite them knowing you guys still had them eating out of your hands. All I want to say is where the hell did you get those tired lines Kakarot."

    

They all continued laughing at each other.

    

"Vegeta your one to talk," Krillen lowered his voice and did his best Vegeta imitation. "_I dare you, you ungrateful little bitch_." Vegeta shook his head, as the others were crying from laughter.

    

"Hey Krillen," Goku managed to get out, "don't be so hard on Vegeta, it's you were gonna be laughing at when your trying to get the last pearl under the ocean and your 100 years old." They were all laughing at Krillen this time.

    

"Hold on, hold on. What about that green box Gohan brought, we have to talk about that." Vegeta snickered, and Goku tried to hold in his laughter. "Now at least Vegeta had a reason for his kooky box. What's the story on yours, did you think it was Christmas or something." Gohan couldn't help but laugh at himself.

    

"Actually the guy at the jewel place gave me a really nice box but I lost it," that cause the guys to laugh louder. "So I went to the nearest place and that was all they had. It was a supposed to be filled with candies." They were slapping each other on the shoulders laughing.

    

"Wait, wait, wait. That's what smelled like chocolate that night, "Goku asked chuckling, Gohan nodded unable to breath from the laughter.

    

A little while after the hilarity came to an end and it was back to poker. But of course there was that lingering question. It was never officially settled and barely mentioned. Krillen looked up from the game, the guys were concentrating on their hands.

    

"Hey you guys I was wondering," Goku, Vegeta and Gohan looked up, "aren't you guys starving, cause I am lets get something to eat." They all agreed and went up for snacks and left the cards and poker chips where they lay. They'll play again later. As to whom won the bet…     

What bet?

* * *

Author: Thanks for reading, so whacha think huh? It was sort of also a character study of the 4 guys and their freindship. Its sort different, I guess. I dont know, tell me what ya think. If I make another fic it will probably be an action AU fic. HEY, do any of you watch the Cosby Show, if you did you'd notice some parts similar to a certain episode. Bye.

**Disclaimer:** Hello, Dbz ain't mine


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